Teen Killed When She Drops Smartphone

Police say that while Dina Kadribasic was standing on the subway platform waiting for her train Sunday afternoon and like most of America, she had her smartphone out busily texting friends. Officers said they don’t know if someone bumped into her on the crowded platform or if she just wasn’t paying attention and the phone slipped out of her hands. Either way, the device finally landed on the tracks.

Not about to lose her beloved Smartphone, Dina immediately jumped down onto the tracks to retrieve the phone without a thought. Officers say that was when the teenage girl was fatally struck by a train coming into the Queens Station. Miss Kadribasic, age 13, died as a result of the impact. A spokesperson for the transportation system said she succumbed to her injuries shortly after being hit by a southbound R train at the 63rd Drive-Rego Park station on 63 Drive and Queens Boulevard.

Witness told authorities that Miss Kadribasic had retrieved her phone and was trying to get get back onto the platform from the track bed, when she was struck by the fast moving commuter train around 2 p.m. Strangely, while no one seemed inclined to help her regain the safety of the platform, following her being struck, several onlookers reportedly tried to save her from being pinned by the locomotive.

One Passenger on the train, Stephan Topete, told ABC7, that: “People were trying to push the train, and everybody on the train moved to the side so we could push the weight of the train to the side. We thought the person was actually trapped in between the train,” he said.

Video posted on Twitter showed a large crowd of commuters, many still in shock from what they witnessed, waiting outside the station as fire trucks and ambulances arrived at the scene. “A lot of them were crying on the platform,” Topete said. “I think two of them were even throwing up.” Authorities said the girl was taken to Elmhurst Hospital and later died.

Following the tragedy, New York City Transit sent out a statement reminding customers about platform safety and to remain behind the yellow strip at all times.